Sherbet Mayhem: Hey and hello, guys. I'm back. And I'm gonna be the nicest I've ever been to you guys – and not waste thousands of minutes of your precious time on huge and pointless disclaimers. I own everything from last week plus a silver Lord of the Rings ring (actually I do. My brother got me it for birthday! It cost . . . I'm babbling aren't I?)
Can I just ask, is it me or is enthusiasm for this story dropping off? I got like four reviews for chapter eight (which I am very grateful for, but please. Four reviews for like four hours work? That ain't much). What happened? Did the story get like overly crap or something?
On with Chapter Nine.
Oh, and sorry about the even later than usual update! I was gonna do this Sunday night, but I was just too tired. So I'm doing it now, Monday night instead of my 'Othello' essay. Oh look what I give up for you *tosses script of 'Othello' over shoulder and into waste paper basket and chuckles* ! ! !
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Chapter Nine: Bright Eyes
~Is it a kind of a shadow, reaching into the night?
Following a river of death downstream . . . or is it a dream?
There's a high wind in the trees . . . a cold sound in the air.
But nobody ever knows when you go . . . or where do you start?
Fall into the dark . . . ~
Rei peered through the grate beneath him in the vent. His fingers were pressed slightly into the grooves of the grate and his eyes flashed as he watched the room below. The plan was to flood the computer rooms as . . . planned. However, the group had to make sure that they were out of harm's way by the time the water hit the computers. Although the equipment was sometimes waterproof – as Jenny suspected was the case – the water would be able to stop anybody using the computer of operating it and so would shut it down.
"Clear, Rei?"
Rei had moved to the front of the group as he had very sharp eyesight, and was checking the room below so it was safe for the group to drop into. Of the original group, Tyson, Jenny, Max, Kai and himself were still able to operate. Mark had been blown up just outside the BIOVOLT HQ and Dave, although still alive, was in a critical condition and needed attention fast. Right now he was slung over Tyson's back, his breathing unsteady and laboured and his pulse slowly dropping.
Rei had been questioned by Max, who was directly behind him. He shook his head and whispered his hurried response. In about two minutes time the vent shafts they were currently in would overflow with water. The plan was to move into the hallway, sealing the rooms behind them as the water cascaded through the pipes and onto the electrical equipment – therefore rendering BIOVOLT weaker than ever before.
"Two guards. Armed. That's all I can see. Room's about seven metres wide and eight long. The computer system's huge."
"There's anuvver room next te' this one," hushed Jenny, typing on her rather wet computer. Remarkably it still worked as quickly and reliably as ever. From the back, Kai spoke quietly, not quite whispering.
"Max, can you pick 'em off?"
The blond boy nodded, quickly removing his Eagle and aiming. He was getting very good at this – upsetting for Tyson, who entirely disapproved of Max being allowed to handle a gun – yet fortunate for the team because he had a fantastic aim on close distance shots. He slipped the nose of his gun through a gap in the grill of the shaft and picked off the first guard easily. The second followed quickly, not being given time to call for help because of Max's admirable shooting. The two bodies crumpled to the floor, tiny pools of blood amassing about their lifeless faces.
Max slipped his gun away and he and Rei began to undo the screws on the grill. It didn't take them long – desperate fingers (although a little wet) can be surprisingly efficient when put under the right amount of pressure. Soon the black bolts were slid out from the metal. There was still about a minute to spare when Max and Rei ripped off the grate and dropped lightly into the room below. Jenny followed heavily, having approximately no balance, and then Tyson. Kai remained up top, lowering Dave gently into Tyson's grasp, before dropping down himself.
"We'll only be able te' flood one room, ye' know," commented Jenny as she looked around the room. Kai nodded.
"I know."
Tyson, now with his friend loaded safely onto his back, queried this. "Why only one?"
Rei answered. "Because the vent leading to this room stops a little way down from here," answered Rei, "The next computer room is connected to a different series of vents."
"Which means you'll have to hack into the other mainframe?" asked Max. Jenny nodded, the camouflage on her face completely messed up because of their underwater adventures earlier.
"Let's seal off this room and get out then," Tyson suggested, understanding now. He wasn't thinking too much at the moment. He was greatly concerned about his friend. As mentioned earlier, Tyson hated the fact that he could do nothing to help Dave, whose life was literally flooding away through his back. Tyson had applied a makeshift bandage a little while ago but it really wasn't good enough.
Kai moved over to the heavy metal double doors that sealed the room off from the rest of the corridor. They were a deep grey with two small circular windows in the middle of each door. The room itself was semi-circular, with large black and grey computers along the edges of the wall. The floor was tiled and slightly annoying, as they were all very wet and kept slipping a little on the floor. He noticed that to open the door a swipe card was required – and so he pulled it out of the pocket of one of the dead guards on the floor. Max grimaced.
"That's like stealing from the dead, Kai!"
"Any better ideas, Max?" asked his Captain dryly as he swiped the card. Max faltered – he hadn't – and the doors swept open.
For a moment, they didn't move. The whole group stood still – showing sense. Kai, nearest to the door, his blue slashes merging with the greens and blacks on his face and giving him a strangely disturbing look, peered out cautiously into the hallway, checking for guards or resistance. There were no guards in the hallway.
"Looks clear," commented Kai, glancing left and right cautiously. Jenny moved forwards.
"Weird. Last time I was 'ere it was full o' guards."
"Not any more," responded Max, looking out onto the hallway himself. It was long and slim, a lighter grey. This whole place was just a thousand different shades of dull grey. It was so depressing, almost like a prison. Or a tomb.
"Let's move it," said Rei confidently. It seemed safe enough. He stepped out into the hallway first, looking around cautiously, his heart thudding in his throat so very realistically. The team surrounded him, leaving the door open for a moment.
"Th' room's there," Jenny pointed out, and she took a step forwards, her rubber trainers making little noise on the tiled grey floor. Discretion had been essential in the operation – but now it seemed to have deserted them.
A range of bullets sprayed by their heads immediately. Jenny cried out and leapt backwards into the room – landing on Tyson's toe and making him howl in pain.
"OW! Jen!"
"Sorry!" she cried, exasperated, her hair hanging about her face, as Rei, Kai and Max sprang back into the room as another torrent of bullets whizzed past their heads. This was simply getting too dangerous. How could they avoid their enemy when they didn't even know where their enemy was?
Kai swiped the card automatically, and the doors moved shut, creating a water-tight seal as they joined. Rei peered out of one of the two windows, feeling rather ominous.
"What was that about? I couldn't see a single enemy! Who was shooting at us?"
"More like what, Rei," answered Tyson, a trail of blood beginning to smear down his own back because of Dave's dripping wound. Rei spun to face the young boy, who was beginning to look a little tired because of the weight he had to carry upon his shoulders.
"What do you mean?"
Tyson sighed, and shifted his shoulders so they weren't hurting as much. As stubborn as ever, Tyson refused to pass Dave over to someone stronger or take a break. In some strange way, Tyson had something to prove to himself – he didn't quite know how. He spoke.
"In the walls there were a ton of tiny holes. When we were all out of the room, bullets fired out of them. Easy, really."
Kai stared at Tyson. "How d'you notice that?"
Tyson shrugged and then winced, and, before he could answer, Max interrupted:
"Want me to carry Dave for a little while, Tyson?"
Tyson shook his head resiliently, shivering at the sensation of blood snaking menacingly, negatively, down his spine. He fell silent and the sound of the alarm could be heard distantly. Obviously it had only gone off on the ground floor.
"What do we do now?" he asked, breaking his own silence with his own curiosity. After a slight pause and a gentle clicking of keys, Jenny answered.
"From this room, I migh' be able ter disable th' attack system out there. I could ge' th' guns ter stop. Take me abou' firty seconds or sumfin. Oh, I don't believe this . . . bloomin' attack systems my bum . . . "
She carried on muttering as she shuffled over to the huge computer mainframe system, still clicking away on her own mini computer – which had actually taken a bullet and was still working well! Kai couldn't help think that Jenny had in her hands some sort of reincarnation of Dizzi.
The others simply waited while Jenny took a seat in a large black swirly chair and began to type furiously at the enormous keyboard before her.
"Ah, th' keys are dead soft, like them on a laptop!"
Rei rolled his eyes, and moved over to the door, looking once again out of the window. It was such a small view from there – only a miniscule picture of the outside of the room could be seen. He shivered – something about this place made him feel very uneasy. Still, he put it aside, knowing he had to concentrate, when Jenny spoke again. The sound of the nearby turbine churning and the swell of water was strangely loud.
"I can't take down th' 'ole system. I can get rid o th' bullets outside, but ter bring down th' entire system I have ter get next door inter th' uvver computer room."
Kai nodded. "Okay. Well, disable the bullets, and you should have no problem."
Jenny nodded herself in agreement, and typed a couple more strokes. Then the whole computer bleeped encouragingly.
"Righ'. Get ter th' uvver room."
The group nodded, and Kai swiped the door again with the tiny white plastic card. It was that sort of flexible, shiny material and it felt oddly smooth in his hand.
"Strange what weird details you take in when you're in a situation like this," he thought to himself, "I mean, I didn't notice the bullet torrents Tyson saw, but I'll never forget how this stupid swipe card feels."
The identification sorter bleeped and a little red light flashed, and the doors slid open, parting in the middle and breaking that tight seal which would soon be locked if Jenny knew what she was doing on the other computer system. She stood directly in the centre of the group.
She wished she hadn't.
The doors pulled themselves open and she found herself facing two young guards. They were both male, of heavy build; tall too, and very powerful looking. They glared at her, each with evil spangles in their eyes. They stood side by side directly in front of her. One was taller than the other, with very bright red hair, and ice blue eyes, the colour of the Russian river they had passed earlier. His features were sharp and hooked and he grinned as the doors slid apart. The other was slightly stockier, with an odd type of lavender coloured hair, with funny side-bangs. His face, although pale, was dark, and his cold amethyst eyes glinted frighteningly.
"Say cheese," they said in terrifying unison, and they both raised their guns – E-Light Minimi's. Jenny felt herself gasp as she closed her eyes, hearing the door sweep open to its full extent.
Something knocked her about the legs and pulled her to the floor, and her eyes cracked open sharply as she banged her head. Looking about, hearing some sort of mêlée above her head, she saw that Rei had dragged her to the floor.
"You okay?" he asked, not looking directly at her. She nodded and then clarified.
"Ye'."
"Get to the next room," Rei said quietly, out of hearing from the others. Looking up in a not so confused state, Jenny noticed now that Kai and Max had literally flung themselves on their attackers, knocking their weapons away in the process, and there was an impressive brawl going on. Max was thrown out of the battle and skidded over to Jenny, who hadn't arisen yet.
"Come on, Jen. I'll come too."
He offered a hand, and Jenny took it gratefully, pulling herself to her feet. A flurry of jet and amber to her left told her Rei had joined in the struggle, and without ordering her feet to move they did so, and she found herself flying, still clinging to Max's hand, into the room next door. Meanwhile, the brawl ensued.
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"Damn it, Tala!" yelled Tyson, gritting his teeth hard and then smiling as he realised he had grit his teeth with Tala's arm still clamped in between them. Yes, they had been attacked by none other than Tala and Bryan, two 'blasts from the past' with a score to settle. Most bad blood lay between Bryan and Rei, but Rei seemed intent on trying to break Tala's leg at that moment. Kai and Bryan merely rolled about on the floor, lips pulled back in snarls as they threw heavy and well aimed punches at each other.
"Tyson, you'll pay!" replied Tala, following his words with a cry of agony as Tyson's canine teeth drew blood. He yanked his arm away, ripping at Tyson's face and causing him to recoil. Rei spun on one foot and swept Tala cleanly to the floor, and Tala landed hard on his back. This allowed Tyson time to return to the battle, but seeing Tala was in a weak position right now, decided to help Kai.
The grey and lavender hair mixed as the two crashed into the swirly chair, clattering to the floor. Kai managed to land on top of the situation, and he pressed Bryan down, with his own hands impressed deep into the evil boy's shoulders. Kai had seen plenty enough of Bryan in the past to know he was an evil creation indeed. He intended to show the boy no mercy. Besides Kai, he noticed that the floor was getting very wet, and, looking up at the vent, he realised that the flimsy water barrier made earlier by himself was beginning to leak more drastically. They didn't have long.
"How's your friend Dave, Kai? He looks a little out of it!" snared Bryan maliciously, breathless as he was. Kai growled and snuck a glance at Dave, whom Tyson had had to place on the floor to fight. The poor lad lay still, barely breathing, his eyes closed and his clothes stained with malevolent, wicked washes of weary crimson. Kai was about to respond in anger when he saw a boot flash by his own face.
"Don't you even think about bad mouthing my buddy!"
Kai nodded, rolling his eyes, and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw it was Tyson who had kicked Bryan in the stomach. Beneath him, Bryan coughed.
"You'll never succeed in this! BIOVOLT will have its victory!" drolled Bryan in his dull, lifeless, monotonous voice. It was so ingrained, so emotionless, that Kai couldn't help but drag the boy up by his collar.
One eye still on the form of Rei, battling with Tala, now rolling about on the floor as he and Bryan had been, Kai spoke quietly, aware that Tyson was watching him. So much rage he wanted to take out this lad, so much anger, so much hurt from all those years of guilt, lying, deceit . . .
"Let me assure you, Bryan, that BIOVOLT will never win."
With that, Kai swung himself around and slammed the well-built criminal into the wall of the hallway outside. There was a sickening snap as the boy's head connected on a bad angle, and Bryan fell to the floor, lifeless, his neck twisted into an unusual, impossible looking position.
Tyson stared. Kai had just killed in cold blood. "K . . . . Kai?"
Kai looked back to Tyson from staring at the dead form of the boy, who lay outside the room. "Yes, Tyson?"
"You – you just killed him."
Kai sighed, feeling terrible himself. "I know – but Bryan was never alive anyway. He was just a shell, filled with BIOVOLT philosophies and regulations, ready to spout them out with a mix of cruelty whenever he spoke."
Tyson couldn't help but agree. This was true. And if that was he case, did the same apply to Tala? Was he really just an empty shell, swelling alive only with the chants of BIOVOLT brainwashing? As Tyson watched the boy scrawling about with Rei on the floor, biting, scratching, tearing viciously with no hint of conscience or mercy, rolling through the door into the lighter grey hallway, Tyson realised it was true of all who had retained their BIOVOLT training and thought process.
And so he took out his pistol and shot Tala right through the middle of his face.
Rei winced as blood and more splattered all over his own face, and he raised a hand to stop more pieces of effluence smacking him. "Urghh!"
Now it was Kai's turn to stare at Tyson, who slipped his pistol away into its holster. Things were so different now. What had happened had begun to change him too. Often in earlier times, Tyson would observe how the war and its events had changed people for the worse or better. He had always disapproved, as it had brought Max to almost an emotionless state on certain occasions. Yet now he understood. He understood what it was like to feel so much rage and pity toward a person that it seems better to let them die quickly. He understood why people did it now. He still didn't approve, but it is often remarked that understanding is the first step to approval.
"That's horrible!" moaned Rei, wiping a fleck of foreign blood from his lips. "Gross!"
"Suck it up, Rei," said Kai quickly, "We have to move. Look."
He nodded up towards the dark grey ventilation shaft, and Rei's eyes widened when he saw the steady trickle of water leaking from the open grill. A white object suddenly slipped out of the vent and landed near to Rei. Before he could pick it up, Kai had.
"Hey, my sock."
Kai rung out the tiny white sock and looked at it, in some strange way almost glad to see the thing. It gave him the impression that things could always return to normal, to how they should be. The sock had been where it shouldn't be – duct taped to a water barrier in a ventilation shaft. Now it was back with its owner.
"Oh."
It had a huge hole in the heel. Kai sighed, his deep thought chain proving to be rubbish.
"Typical," he said nonchalantly as he flipped the cotton material over his shoulder with a bored _expression. The wet thing smacked Tyson in the face and he yanked it off.
"Thanks."
Rei grinned, amused. He then straightened and stood up after his brawl, stretched his arms, and blinked a few times.
"Should we get going to the next room, guys?"
Kai nodded. "Yeah. This room is gonna flood soon. We need to get out and shut the door tightly."
"I sure hope this works," commented Tyson, brushing himself off. Rei grabbed a small handful of water from the floor as Kai answered confidently, "Why wouldn't it?"
Washing his face with his already dirty hands, Rei replied, "I think if things go to plan we'll be fine. It's just gonna be difficult getting things to go to plan."
"True," said Tyson, nodding. "Plus, we're following the plan of the Crazy One over here."
"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Kai as he turned to walk away. He was not in the most amiable of moods. Rei chuckled and spoke light-heartedly.
"Geez, lighten up, Kai! Things aren't going so bad! All we need to do now is seal this room off, and we'll be able to-"
"ENOUGH!"
Rei shut his mouth, his eyes flashing. Why had he been interrupted?
"You don't seem to understand the importance of this," said Kai, turning just a little so Tyson and Rei could see one dangerous brown eye glinting in the weak light of the room. "What's with all the cracks and funnies? I think it'd be nice if you'd tone it down for a change and appreciate how serious this mission really is."
Rei raised an eyebrow. "There's no need to bite our heads off like that, oh mighty Captain Kai."
Tyson cringed and shook his head silently. Rei had already overstepped the mark earlier. Had he done it again?
There was an odd silence. Tyson looked with wavering blue grey eyes from one friend to the other, wondering who would speak first. Oddly enough it was Kai.
"Yeah well, Rei, today you've given me reason to. You've been insolent to your authority and have given me trouble about following orders. I'm almost disappointed."
The voice was quiet, and Tyson felt it best not to even bother commenting. Rei's face simply sobered, and he looked down at the ground. Had he been that impudent? Sometimes, he saw Kai as such a good friend that it was difficult to see him as a commanding Captain in battle at all.
"I'm . . . I'm sorry, sir."
He didn't quite know what to say. Rei felt so awkward all of a sudden. When Kai walked ahead with no remark, he felt even worse about himself. He couldn't believe he'd been such a jerk! Almost acting like a first year soldier, stepping out of line in immaturity and hating the officers!
"Man, I messed up," thought Rei as he turned to survey the room one last time. Tyson picked Dave up gingerly from where he hadn't moved on the floor, followed Kai, and walked into the hallway. Rei realised, after gazing about the trashed room, that it was time to follow on. He felt so guilty all of a sudden and he didn't quite know why. Every soldier had stepped out of line once in a while. But to do it to a friend seemed quite different.
"I'll make that up to Kai," thought Rei, showing without himself even realising what a true, loyal friend he really was. To show so much dedication to a Captain that it hurt deep down to disappoint them was something out of the ordinary.
An unprecedented flash caught Rei's eye to the left, just underneath the swirly chair. He focused closer and scanned the object.
"Oh, it's Dra-"
He was cut off by a loud whirring noise. Looking about in wonder, he stopped short as he saw the doors ahead of him beginning to slide shut. Outside in the hallway, Kai and Tyson turned around, Tyson having laid Dave on the floor again for a quick breather.
"Rei, get out! The doors are closing!"
"Why?" thought Rei, "Who's shutting them?"
He watched the inexplicable movement of the doors for a second, not worried. After all, Kai could just swipe him out again in a second. He'd pick up the flashing Beyblade from underneath the chair and then move it on out.
"Rei, get out! We have to keep up the pace here!" cried Tyson, grinning. Kai folded his arms and closed his eyes.
Rei nodded as he bent down and scrambled about underneath the chair, fumbling with his fingers until they wrapped about the hard, cold plastic and metal form of the Beyblade. He stood up, his inky hair lagging into his gleaming eyes, and took another glance at the doors. They were almost shut, and so he tossed the blade forward with incredible accuracy. It slipped right through the tiny gap left between the doors and right into Kai's outstretched palm.
The doors shut tight.
Kai caught the Beyblade and looked at it. It was Dranzer. It must have fallen out of his pocket in the tussle with Bryan. He smiled, knowing when to be grateful even if he was in a bad mood. He moved to the swipe receptor and swiped the already familiar feeling white card. On came the little red light and there was the bleep.
The doors didn't move.
"Hurry up, Kai!" came Rei's voice, "I'm getting bored!"
Kai grinned, and ran the card through again. It had gotten wet.
The doors remained tightly sealed.
Puzzled, Kai ran the card through another time. "It . . . . won't work!" He spoke more to himself than anybody else. For some reason his hands were trembling as he ran the card through again, and again, and again. Tyson watched, a bemused _expression on his face. Rei's face pressed up against the door.
"Am I trapped in here?" came his amused voice. That was certainly one of the many good things about Rei Kon – he could never stay in a bad mood. He liked to be cheery and positive.
Kai swiped the card again and growled. "Dumb machine."
"Oh no!" cried Rei in mock horror, placing a hand to his head in the window dramatically, "This cruddy little room is to be my grave!"
Tyson giggled, for some strange reason managing to feel somewhat relieved in the middle of all this tension. The escape from the flooding room, the vent, the battle with the boys, had left him feeling so stressed and edgy, overwrought with worry and exhilaration, that he felt he needed a laugh.
Wait a second . . . flooding room?
"Rei, that room really will be your grave in a minute!" yelled Tyson, suddenly banging up against the door desperately, "It's gonna fill with water!"
Rei's face fell visibly at the window. "What? Crud! Get me out!"
Kai was bent double by the swipe receptor. His wet fingers fumbled with the card and he swiped it again, only to see the light but no reaction from the doors.
"Tyson," said Kai quickly, "Go get Jenny and Max. Tell her to try and unlock this door from the computer system in that room."
Tyson sped off, and Kai looked up at Rei, whose face was white in the window. The doors each had one small window, like the windows in the sides of boats that allow one to look into the sea when travelling. Rei's eyes were frantic and darted along the form of Kai.
Kai shook his head, finding it difficult to hear the boy through the thick metal doors with their watertight seal. He glanced down the shining card, flipping it over in his hands nervously. Why wouldn't it work?
Another look at Rei's face made his heart leap and almost rip out of his chest. Rei had turned and was looking away, fear frozen onto his face, and, looking behind his terrified friend, Kai could see a literal waterfall of rushing waters whipping through the air and slamming into the ground at terrifying speed from the vent. The barrier had broken.
Rei turned back to the window. "Help!"
Attempting to ignore the feeling of sheer panic that surged and pulsed through his body, Kai swiped the card again, not sure why he kept doing it. Tyson arrived at his side once more.
"I can't get in! The door to that room is locked too!"
Kai's gaze darted up to Tyson's. "What?"
He had heard perfectly clearly. It was just so difficult to believe. Kai glanced back up at the door; about two metres high and a metre wide each, with their tiny windows. Rei's face was still there, and he was yelling.
"Guys, let me out! Help me!"
Tyson was already frenetic. He banged on the door hard with both fists, the door which didn't have Rei's face at the window. "Hold on, pal!"
After another swipe of the card, Kai glanced back up, sensing each of his own heartbeats in his chest. He suddenly started at what he saw. The water was up to Rei's chin.
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"There we go, Max,"
With a final stroke of the keypad, Jenny was done, and she turned to face Max. "Th' defences are down. All th' doors automatically lock coz th' system's defective, bu' tha' doesn't matter. There's anuvver vent in 'ere, an' it's easy ter reach . . . we'll be out in a tick . . . "
Max located the vent first. This room was identical to the other room. Not particularly high, with a vent running across the ceiling. Jenny stood on a table beside Max and helped him open the grill in the vent, and clambered in. Using mini micro genius computer that never seemed to break no matter what she did, she guided herself and Max along into another couple of vents until they were finally over the main hallway.
"What's all that banging?" asked Max. It was true – all that could be heard, apart from the distant bleeping of the alarm, which had somehow managed to stay on despite Jenny's valiant efforts to turn it off, were these strange banging noises. Thud, thus, thud, as though somebody was banging on a metal box desperately.
The grill fell off, and Jenny dropped to the floor, followed by Max.
"Guys, we did it! We disabled th' systems!" she cried triumphantly, spotting sight of her team. However, she didn't have time to talk more, as she felt a strong pair of hands shove her up against the wall. Blinking and gasping, she focused in and looked into the face of . . .
"Kai?"
His brown eyes flashed something she had never seen in them before – fear. True, genuine fear, despondency, reliance, question. She stared. "What?"
"How the hell do you open these doors?" he said quietly, his voice sounding very hoarse and tense – he almost spat the words. Jenny frowned, a little confused. How should she know?
"I s'ppose tha' they must 'av locked when I shut down th' system. No chance of yer openin' them now with technology!" she grinned a little nervously as he put her down and let go of her. He turned back to the door of computer room one and moved to the window on the right hand side.
Jenny followed him, confused, and then gasped again, completely taken aback.
"REI ! ! !"
Pressed up against the window by the fierce force of the water pumping into the room was Rei, his eyes wide. Water surrounded his face – in fact, it looked like the whole room was full. The computer system had not yet gone down, obviously, as the water was not yet electrified (as Rei was still alive). Jenny knew that some companies did waterproof all of their equipment.
"Why's 'e in there?" she asked, her voice shrill. She then noticed Tyson, banging on the door frantically, his fists turning purple already with the force of his slamming. More banging could be heard too – the thudding of Rei, no longer able to call for help, simply having to slam his fists into the wall to signify that he was drowning. His face always remained close to the window, his eyes still bright, his hair floating wildly in the current.
"Can't he swim back up the vent?" asked Max quickly, his voice surprisingly emotionless and stable. Hard, almost.
"No!" cried Tyson, "Why? He'd end up in the turbine room, which was also flooded! We have to open these doors!"
Kai swiped the card again desperately, now grasping with his fingers at the receptor, In fact, some of his fingers had cut and were bleeding with the force of him trying to get the tiny machine to do what the rest of them could not. The heavy doors, which had protected them so well earlier, had now become their enemy. The barrier was now a foe, not a friend.
"Come on . . . "he muttered to himself, now swiping the card and looking directly up at Rei's pale face. His eyes met Kai's and they locked for a second. The look on Rei's face said it all. He wanted to know why this was happening. He wanted to know why his tam was letting him drown.
"No!" cried Kai, slamming his fists against the door and then against the swipe receptor, which was on the wall next to the door.
He remembered his grenade gun, and instantly fought for it about his waist. He had clipped it to his belt upon unpacking his bag earlier. However he could barely pull it out or prepare to use it because his hands were shaking so much.
"Hold on, Rei . . . "
He finally prepared the gun, and reached into his pocket for a grenade.
"Wait!" cried Tyson, "What if you blow Rei up!"
"We have to do something!" yelled Kai in fury, his voice betraying his feelings for once. Sweat ran down his face in tiny droplets, and his stomach lurched every time he looked up at his friend, whose bright eyes were beginning to fade away and fall somewhere else. Tyson banged at the window.
"HOLD ON! ! !"
Rei nodded faintly, his alert _expression turning dizzy. Why weren't his team helping him? Did they want to leave him in there? Had he been too much of a disappointment?
"I'm sorry . . . " he thought sadly as his gaze began to falter. His lungs strained and jerked in his chest and a strange, pressurized hot feeling ran behind the length of his eyes and nose. His head felt light and his vision was blurred and swaying, as though in a whirlwind of a thousand radiation waves, all smearing into one giant wave form that vibrated in the evanescence of its being. "I tried . . . "
He could faintly see the shapes of his friends outside the glass, on the other side, free, breathing in the gift of air. And he faintly wondered how happy they would be without him to mess things up . . .
Back outside, Kai checked his other pocket.
"This can't be happening . . . "
Where were his grenades? Had they been lost?
"Kai, you used them! On the turbines!" yelled Tyson. Kai's eyes widened briefly, and his pupils constricted in fear. He had nothing to help his friend with.
"No!" he yelled, moving back to the window, his palms placed flat against the door, one hand still fiddling with the receptor and running the swipe card through it in sheer blind despair. Every glance at his friend wrenched his heart.
Rei was going to die – and they knew it. And they could do nothing.
Reality began to hit Tyson as he continued to bang against the door. His eyes filled through no will of his own but through sheer emotion swelling as a stormy wave through his body. The strength in his fists seemed to die with each and every fragile attempt he made to break down the evil barrier between them and their friend and with each and every tear that dripped from his shimmering grey eyes.
"Please, no, don't let this . . . happen . . . "
~Bright eyes . . . burning like fire . . .~
He continued to pound with all his heart on the door, his fists numb now. He looked over to his right, to the window where the ghostly apparition of Rei appeared. He was little more than a pale dream to Tyson now. He seemed so far away, although he was in reality so close.
"Rei . . . "
~Bright eyes . . . how can you close and fail?~Kai held Rei's gaze as long as he could bear to. His whole body shook with what was happening. Why was it taking so long? Was it hurting Rei as much as it was hurting them?
Inside the watery tomb, Rei's thoughts began to whirl into one. His vision darkened immensely as the glimmer light of life was moved further and further away from him. He knew now that he couldn't reach it, not even with his friend's help. It was gone. He couldn't swim against this current.
He looked into his Captain's eyes again. They were the only ones he could see now, so burning and hungry, glittering now with feeling through the invisible barrier reef. He wanted to lift a hand, to show some sort of recognition, but hadn't the strength. His body was burning, crumbling, and his soul was stirring so gently beneath him, and he was a feather, suddenly floating upon a gentle summer's wave, the iridescent water's surface scintillating warmly in the golden sunshine radiating from the sky and from his eyes. And then the darkness fell, and the light was extinguished, and the scene for Rei drew to a close.
~How can the light that burned so brightly . . . suddenly burn . . . so pale~?
~Bright eyes . . .~
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Tyson couldn't hear himself shouting anymore, although he was aware of this. He could still feel, but that was all. Everything was running on one huge emotion right now. Tears were surging from his eyes and trailing down his cheeks in trails and streams of misery. He couldn't stop. He couldn't give in . . . he had to keep fighting for his friend . . .
Tyson pounded one more time, his fist bleeding now, before another hand grasped his own and stopped it in midair. It was Jenny, and she stared at Tyson, his face a painting of anguish, a watercolour of tears and feelings. Her own face was similar. As Tyson choked back a stifled cry, she sobbed herself, and pulled him into an embrace. The two held each other closely, Jenny feeling Tyson's racking shoulders against her own and bursting into fully-fledged tears. Nearby, Max leaned against the wall, staring at the floor near the still form of Dave, his eyes blank. His heart moved a little, and then he blinked it away, and looked on at the floor, feeling awkward and bored.
Kai still stared at the image before him. Just a second ago, those bright, reliable eyes had fluttered shut finally, after such a fight, after such an attempt . . . to . . . to just . . .
The face slid from the window, falling away, as though a wisp of air on an evening's breeze . . .
Unable to hold his own gaze, Kai sank, closing his eyes so hard to try and hold up his image. He couldn't break . . . not now . . . he couldn't . . .
He felt his knees hit the floor gently and he stopped weakly, his breaths ragged and quiet. And there he placed his hand over his face, over his eyes, as glimmering tears slid through the fingers and dripped onto the floor with tiny splashes, inaudible to all. His shoulders shook as he still tried, still fought, so hard, to just keep it in, to keep it quiet . . . but he failed, and his head dropped as two or three tattered, frayed breaths escaped his form, shattering through himself and through those around him. The other hand clenched about his Beyblade, so warm, so fiery with sensation right now, so blameful and yet so blameless.
A small, shiny card hit the floor with a miniscule clink, and lay still, and, within the murky blue prison, the body of a young boy, full of promise and light . . . full of expectation and impression . . . the body of a young boy who would be the best many others would have ever known . . . finally came to a gentle rest on the floor.
~ Bright eyes . . . ~
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Sherbet Mayhem: Hi guys. The lyrics throughout the chapter were 'Bright Eyes' by Art Garfunkel. I don't wanna say anything to spoil the mood for you guys. I'll tell you something . . . even I was crying, and I never cry at my own work. Well, I wasn't crying, ya know, just . . . there was something in my eyes . . .
Anyhow, read and review! Oh, treachery 89, if you're reading, thanks for the shout out! I love it when people shout out with my name! YAY! Same goes for Mizu_Tenshi – an awesome writer. (If this isn't blatant advertising then I don't know what is . . . ). Also hello to scarlet diamonds (hey ! ! ! You know her stuff's awesome!) and Identity Thief – who I flamed a while back for not completing a very good story. I was very angry and I apologise formally. I don't mean to get all huffy on ya, and so I suggest that I compliment you on your new story because it's the proper thing to do – I hope you're reading this! Hello to Honest Abe (that's if ya reading!) and Otherworlder (Yo, were you at?) and everybody, go check out Laura_Sparrow. She writes Harry Potter fics (urghh!) but she's a friend! Danke schön (thank you in german)! Lol! Er . . . oh, hi Oil pastel! Everyone, read her fics, they well funny! One Beyblade one, one Lord of Rings one, one Pirates of Caribbean one! Very good! Jah! Hey there Drifting Soul, how you bin? Thanks for the support! Black Dranzer girl, thanks for all the reviews! If I forgot anyone, I'm sorry! Oh, there was that person who's name I can't remember and who said she loved it and was reviewing every chapter! THANK YOU! It's amazing when people do that! Hello also to Jess in Alabama – hi and howdy! How u doin? Lol!
Once again, sorry about the late update. But do you think it was worth it? Poor baby darling Bright Eyes! I wonder who'll die next chappie . . . hee, hee. Lol. Nope, I ain't finished yet, peoples!
Now do that thang you go, guys and gals, and make my day! Ya know, the clickey thingy . . . that's the one. REVIEW ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! I'll update as soon as poss – won't be later than next Tuesday (er . . . lets' see . . . today is Tuesday the 30th September (oh, oh, Lindsay, it's one month till I go! And just over for you---hoo!) and so it'll be up by the 7th at least. That's a promise. Just so you know, the time now is 01:42. Thank you very much, goodnight.
God bless x x x
Sherbet Mayhem x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x